Police are stepping up efforts to address a recent increase in chain-snatching incidents, with Prime Minister Gaston Browne saying teenagers are believed to be responsible for many of the offences.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show on Saturday, Browne said law enforcement authorities have identified the trend and are developing strategies to curb the crimes.
“We’ve seen an increase in chain snatching,” Browne said. “Those individuals are pretty young people. I’m told some of them are teenagers.”
The prime minister said the incidents remain a concern despite Antigua and Barbuda maintaining a relatively low crime rate compared with many countries in the region.
He urged young people to avoid criminal activity and instead take advantage of government programmes aimed at education, skills training and employment.
Browne also highlighted the success of intervention initiatives targeting at-risk youth, noting that several former gang members have since graduated from the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Continuing Education (ABICE) and acquired skills to help them secure employment.
“The intervention that we have actually made would have saved a number of them and reformed them to the extent that many of them now have a skill,” Browne said.
He said the government intends to continue investing in programmes that provide alternatives to crime while supporting police efforts to maintain public safety.
Browne emphasized that Antigua and Barbuda must remain a safe country for residents and visitors alike, adding that preventing youth involvement in crime remains a key priority.
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The government should get solar powered streetlight with camera combination out of china to replace all existing streetlights system and help the police and government solve crimes
Time we pay people proper wages to take care of there children. The amount of money wasted here is ridiculous. All the new hotels and resorts we are investing in, only to offer jobs at slave labor. This is what our children look forward to. How do we expect things to get better. Only a hand full of people here get a proper wage and they buy and sell the rest of us.
Sorry but what shop is this and where in Antigua sells these items that are clearly not in English I’ve never seen these